The impact of the location of higher education institutions on road traffic was studied

The impact that the location of higher education institutions has on the state of cities, in particular, relating to traffic problems, was studied.  This study was carried out by the Institute of Forecasting and Macroeconomic Research.

According to experts, since educational institutions are considered the basis of development, their rational placement is one of the important aspects of urban planning.  For example, in 2012, in order to reduce the load on the roads in Moscow, it was planned to build educational campuses outside the Moscow Ring Road for the existing five major capital universities until 2020.

In particular, it was decided to optimize several prestigious institutions of higher education.  Also, 9 of the 25 most prestigious universities in the world in the QS World University Ranking are located in capital cities and the remaining 16 are located outside capital cities.

In the study, the level of congestion on the roads of Tashkent city, the average speed on the roads, the length of the roads with traffic congestion, the results of the social survey were evaluated according to the conditions.

The length of congested roads was measured using QGIS software based on QuickMapServices data.  According to the traffic map, if a car moves at a speed of less than 10 km/h on the road – dark red, speed between 10-25 km/h – red, between 25-45 km/h – yellow and speed over 45 km/h -  is represented in green.  Taking this into account, only red and dark red roads were analyzed.

According to the results, today the total length of roads with high traffic in the city exceeds 120 kilometers, which is more than the distance from Tashkent to Gulistan (119 km).  43% of higher educational institutions of the republic are located in Tashkent, and 34% of total students (354 thousand) study in the capital.

47 percent of the survey participants noted an increase in activity due to students going to school as one of the three main reasons for traffic congestion.  78% of the students who took part in the survey rated traffic as one of the main problems.

9.3 percent of students said that they go to school in their free time, and 91 percent of them were students who came to Tashkent from other regions.

“Increased activity during the study period for students causes the length of very busy roads to increase from 8.5 km to 11.3 km.  Due to the increase in traffic during the study period, an additional 507 tons of SO2 are released into the atmosphere in 1 year, which requires the planting of an additional 19,031 trees or the establishment of 53 hectares of green areas,” the research institute said.

Due to the centralization of higher education institutions in the capital, many young people from other regions have to come to Tashkent to study.  Higher prices in Tashkent city compared to other regions, lack of student accommodation and high rental prices cause education costs to increase several times.

Placement of educational institutions training specialists for a certain branch of the economy in regions specialized in this branch helps to improve the quality of education by ensuring the integration of science, education and production.

At the same time, the increase of service facilities around higher education institutions will have a multiplier effect on the economic development of the regions, and the level of regional stratification will decrease.